Ok, first off, I'm not THAT experienced with pc modding, but I am careful and a quick learner... My idea is to modify the back of my Lian Li PC-V1200B by cutting a section of the back of the case out and attempting to fit in the removeable motherboard tray from a Lian Li PC-6070B. This whole idea arose because I removed a PCI bracket support to feed 1/2 tubing into my case, then realized i'd cut the one for the agp slot , its been a nightmare dealing with it by using a simple zip tie to hold the card in place (I even fried a nice GPU when it slipped). So my solution I propose is to modify my removeable motherboard from my PC-6070B to fit into the back of the PC-V1200B I had one dilema so far...deciding if i should use the tray's full back panel and use the 80mm fan (possibly adding a second one) OR try to cut it around the existing 120mm fan on the PC-V1200B, thing is, if I do, it causes an issue removing the cpu heatsink and possibly the ram (which doesn't really make the tray handily removeable) I had one other idea, which is kinda a bummer, which was, rivet the removeable motherboard's PCI/IO face into the new case (kinda boring if you ask me) So PLEASE offer your opinion as to what you would do in my shoes, thank you!
It looks like if you just drill out the rivets around the part that holds the cards and I/O backplate on each tray you can just swap these parts. You might have to drill some more holes in the peice from the PC-6070B to mount it in the v1200. It does look like at least half of them line up without drilling more though. Should work, the peices should be identical. Take some measurements and check for anything not obvious first though.
The pieces are a LITTLE different, I could cut them to fit, but the more I look at this idea, I see ways that my pc-6070B's sheets of metal and parts offer me a possible way to make this mod work. Hmm, but I was to TRY this mod (sound exciting, just wish my mechanical engineer still lived next door :x), anyone got any helpful rule of thumb? Also, what size rivets to LianLi's use? (as I wanna likely rivet the panels back in)
Update! I drilled out the rivets that hold in the back plate and motherboard plate in the 1200 case and the rivets that hold the motherboard tray together in the 6070 case they are quite similar, but not identical, so an easy swap is not possible some cutting and what not and it can be done, but I am still toying with making the back removeable, I even came up with a perfect exterior plate thats brushmetal and black, the side door of the 6070! I loved modsquad's idea to cut the panel for the wires to run by the drives so much that I did it too: Just need some c-strip molding now :x Maybe this should be moved to the project logs, as thats what its becoming
What do you guys think (like anyone will reply, 200+ views, no posts...) should I keep this thread or am I wasting my time posting my progress, as no one seems to care...
just because people arnt replying dosent mean they arnt interested. i only post if i have somthing constructive to say... anyway: PM a mod/admin and have them move it to the project logs section. as for the back plates, if the holes are in the correct places, making the opening in the back biger/smaller to fit shouldnt be too diffficult good work
It's a nice mod, and very useful, but I'm not sure it constitutes a "Project Log" as such (no offence meant). However we are considering it as a Modding sticky, or even a Modding Guide. Good work though. And remember: mod for the mod, not for the glory.
It was no longer going to be a project on just the motherboard mod, i was going to take it much further, including full water cooling the system with a (soon as they come out) black ice gt stealth 360 in 1/2ID tubing (that was my original plan before this mod ideaq came to me, and my motherboard and videocard fried) heh As for the glory, its more I keep getting stuck and wish someone would give me some advice like "you should get a rivet gun" or "you should use a new blackplate, that one has an 80mm fan, try to make it use a 120mm" it was never for glory, its all for function, just need some guidance, I keep wishing my fabricating mechanical engineer buddy lived next door still, :[ Thanks for the support guys.
It didn't look like you would have had too much trouble; You'd have to epoxy or glue nuts in place to use thumbscrews, but other than that, you could have had the mobo tray & I/O area slide in, thus preserving the 120mm fan mount. Unfortuantely, HSF installs would have to be inside the case.
Ok, I have done some planning and other work not related to this project, so sorry for the lack of updates... I don't want to have to remove the HSF to take out the motherboard (even though in my case it'll be a waterblock and it'll have to be removed anyhow) I mocked up some ideas on how I propose to cut the back of the case... Shift the motherboard tray a bit further from the mobo-side enabling me to keep all of that sturdy mobo-side column, and keeping the rigidity of the case quite well, here is my plan for the cut: and also one of the backplate: As for the actual dimensions, none of that is planned Feedback would be greatly appreciated as I am not an engineer, and sometimes overlook important things... 2 Side notes, one, I discovered that I can purchase the motherboard tray (meaning, I can salvage my other case) And two, the more I work on this, I see why LL never included it...
This is not an update per se, as I don't have any picture of work to show... Well I am going to be holding off on this project until I can get my motherboard repaired and get a better idea of what I'm working with, along with get my radiator. :] So expect an update in a week or so, I applogize for the delay....
That's a shame One thing to point out is to keep the mobo tray upside down otherwise it will make the cable routing terrible and we dont want that I'm looking forward to the next update (if there is gonna be one)
Your goal to modify your case to fit the removable motherboard tray from a Lian Li PC-6070B is an ambitious one. You are truly blazing a new trail. I must say I like the effort! I think as you are successful in your attempts many others will follow. Keep plugging away and sharing your progress with us.
Sorry guys, still no updates, been doing a few other things and constantly waiting for my motherboard to return (driving my mother nuts) I'm using her slooooow DELL to do Photoshop, Premiere, Flash, Dreamweaver AND Visual Basic (not all at once), but this heap freezes alot, I miss my pc ;[ I look at the case daily and think "I want to get back to work As for further thoughts, I going to use the original Lian Li motherboard plate from the V1200B as it is a bit larger (supports more) fits perfect with the rivet holes for the PCI/IO plate. Also, I will clearly then have to cut part of the top of that tray off and I figure as for the rails to guide the motherboard in, I can almost just flip them upside down (plus a little moddification), but hey if it was easy, it'd be no fun. One down side is (and this is about when i realized I'd better pick the radiator and stuff before going through with this, was that I will have to have 3-4 rivets into the top of the case, but I figure, eh, i'm going to cut a giant space for the radiator anyhow...) Also, need some feedback guys, I believe a 3x120mm radiator poses problems with this case: 1) The case's face is rounded, means likely a bit less space to fit it toward the front (every mm counts) 2) The radiator MAY stick back too far and butt with possible motherboard components If these are so I have 3 solutions (here is where your feedback comes in) 1) I mount it OUTSIDE the case, with the fans inside (this could allow me to fit 3 extra fans on the top of it too (and have one giant ugly behemoth of a radiator cooler on top..) 2) Not 100% sure it'll be compatible enough, but I considred one of those Koolance radiator kit's for integrating the radiator into the top of the case. I'd buy the kit, gut it, remove the radiator, remove the fans, and simply use the shell (if anyone knows where i can get just the shell pm me koolance doesn't sell it by itself) 3) I go the easy route and get a 2x120 Let me know guys, what do you think? Edit: Also I got a copy of sketchup, man, things kind of confusing, anyone got any advice? (wish i could just FIND a model of my case, heh) I will try to make one, I gotta figure out these exact measurements
WOW NO advice at all? come on guys, need some help here... Anyhow, got my motherboard back, but realized I better wait until i can get the radiator to continue, so in the meantime, I will try to make a sketch-up of my ideas, to and me in engineering this. Any advice?
OK, here's some advice: 1. Seeing as this is not ging to limit itself to a mobo mod, give your project a name, and I'll move this thread back up to Project Logs. 2. What are you trying to cool? even with an SLI system, a 2x120mm rad is more than adequate. Particularly if space is an issue, I'd consider the new Black Ice GT2 series. Mount it upright in the front bottom of the case, and sacrifice one 3.5 drive cage and the lower two 5.25" drive bays if required. You really don't need all of them. Look at Jazzle's Sketchup collection for a model of your case --and much more useful stuff besides.
Well I always wanted to do a triple, but maybe you're right a 2x120 would be enough, i had planned an sli with a 939 amd, and the rest didn't need to be watercooled. as for cutting up the lower bays, if i do go that route, i had planned to use atleast 2 of the front bays to bring it cold air (so that the case air was not an issue, as well had planned to put the pump in the rear hd bays, so that could be rearranged, when I get a chance i will look into your suggestions, thank you Nexxo. To everyone who took an interest in this and I left you hanging I'm sorry, I've been suffering from being broke so it's totally been on hold, but any day now I should have the capital to continue.
why dont you cut the tray back and use the holes which are already there instead of cutting the case?
With my measurements a 3x120mm rad will fit in both the top and bottom of a lian-li 1200b. I'll post pics in 2 weeks when I do it.
i managed to fit 2x 360 gts xflows in the base of my 2000b with bout 4 inches of space above them. this kinda layout / \ and blowing out of a modified base. i'll take some pics when i get chance
